A unique club of single parents bonding over parental issues has recently come up in town; it plans to include only 50 entries in 1st year finds Priya Adhyaru-Majithia
It may be by choice or circumstance that parents become single. But life in a single parent household can be stressful at times. The challenges they face may vary according to their circumstances, but there are also experiences that are shared by single-parent families. To deal with the issues of parenting singlehandedly, a few like-minded singles recently came up with a single parents club in the city. This is an extension of activities of the existing network of singles and singles again Harmony that was formed in 2010.
“Addressing the dire need of time, we have formed a new group of single parents that include divorced, separated or widowed mothers and fathers who desire to bond over parenting issues and how to deal with them,”said Professor Uday Vasavada, founder of Harmony.
FOCUS OF NEW CLUB
The club’s focus is on listing out the experiences of being single father or single mother, discussing issues they face in day-to-day life, their common problems and setting up of an open forum to deal with them or permanent arrangement to overcome them. The network strives to provide social support system and assistance to such parents on legal, security, education and medical fronts. The aim is to rehabilitate these broken families into functioning as a normal, balanced family unit.
The club already has about 12 members in the first two weeks of its formation and plans to include only 50 entries for its first year. One of the prime agendas of the club is also to arrange for their socialising and plan picnics, tours, music and drama programmes that involves children.
CLUB’S FIRST MEMBERS
MUKESH KHAMAR, 58
MARKETING PROFESSIONAL MUKESH, widower for a decade, struggled to raise his two sons Ankit and Ashutosh who were in their teens then. Bringing up their teenage sons single-handedly was not an easy task. He struggled to develop the same set of interests to be in sync with his kids. He said, “Formation of such a network is vital.
As a lone parent, one often fails into giving or taking normal and balanced socialising opportunities. Such network can assist single parents like me on pivotal parenting challenges.”
HIMALI NAIR, 39
HIMALI’S HANDS ARE full working as a fulltime management professional and working as a single mom for her 11-year-old daughter Nidhi. “I often feel lonely and emotional setback hinders me from becoming a joyful individual who can offer normal parenting. I have joined this club with a view to mingle with like-minded individuals and their kids facing similar problems and issues in life. Learning how other members facing similar challenges deal with it and getting an insight into new methods of developing a solution, I feel, will help me be a better single mom.”
UDAY MAWANI, 63
MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL and research scholar Mawani lost his wife when his daughter Vrushti, now 31, was four months old. “All alone as a young widower, raising up an infant daughter and being with her till today when she has grown into becoming an independent strong mom herself; spending a lifetime into rearing up a girl child as a single father has given me a lot of experience. I am happy that such a network is formed and I am part of it. I am here to assist and guide new and young single parents struggling to deal with parenting issues. If such a club existed when I faced tough times, it would have made my life easy. However, I am happy to share my experience with other single parents through this club.”
PURVI PATEL, 36
MULTI-TASKING ACCOUNTS, marketing and designing professional Purvi has an added commitment of raising his 14-yearold son Achal single-handedly. Purvi who has been a widow for the past five years said, “My family and my in-laws have provided a sound familial support that has helped me raise my son single-handedly and also do a time-consuming job at an MNC. However, my son always was uncomfortable when it came to socialising. Such a club, I believe, has helped me to address this issue and raise my son single-handedly.”
JAIMINI PATHAK, 45
JAIMINI, ADVOCATE WHO FACED a traumatic separation from his spouse over 21 years ago, has been raising Khushal, 23 and Puja 14, since then. She has learnt a lot from her struggles as a single mom. Jaimini said, “Working as an advocate, managing two kids single-handedly and managing my properties, my responsibilities never allowed me to socialise. I regret that I could not offer a balanced social life to my sons. I have come out to become a part of this club primarily with a view to offer a balanced social life to my daughter who is still in her tender teen years. I want to explore social networking via this club.”
JYOTI PARIKH, 61
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, JYOTI SUFFERED a traumatic separation with her spouse and lived a tough life of having raised Apurva, 31 and Amol, 27 as a single mom. “My husband left us about 20 years ago due to financial issues and since then my life changed. I had to work hard as a professor and single mom of two sons. I am happy that today both my sons are well-settled. Apurva has settled in the UK after passing out as an investment banker from Oxford and Amol did his MS in engineering and is settled in the US. I have lived a tough time making a series of compromises as a single mom. I have joined this club to assist new single parents to deal with their personal issues.” Jyoti feels that single parents’ kids are too dependent on them emotionally and such a network can offer neutralising support to broken families and can groom single parents into growing into confident and joyful individuals who can offer healthy socialising and conducive familial environment and normal upbringing to their kids.
